1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to multi-purpose utility bags that are convertible from a use as a backpack to a hand-carried bag.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Outdoor activities such as skiing, hiking, cycling, mountain-biking, mountain climbing, and such activities have greatly increased in popularity in the last few years due to realization that such physical activities are a key element in maintaining good health and fitness. Along with such increased activities, a great demand has arisen for rugged tote bags, such as a handbag, hand-luggage, backpacks, and the like, for carrying outdoor gear, a change of clothing, shoes, food, beverages, fishing gear, guns, bullets, and the like. A similar demand for multi-purpose bags has also followed this demand. Athletic clothing and shoes are readily carried in the handbag, and after changing from more formal work clothing into athletic gear, the formal clothing and shoes can be conveniently stored in the bag when it is converted into a backpack for toting not only the remainder of the outdoor gear, but for carrying the pack over your shoulders and on your back thereby freeing one's hands for fishing, shooting, biking, hiking, skiing, or running.
Further, in the traditional arrangement, suitcases, or handbags, have a manually engageable carrying handle on the top, or upper portion, thereof. Such an arrangement provides a convenient means for lugging such a bag for relative short distances as such can be easily manually engaged and disengaged. One of the great inconveniences of such a handle involves eliminating the use of one of the person's hands for other uses. Another difficulty encountered in the use of such a handle is the unbalanced distribution of the weight of the handbag on one side of the body which places great stress and strain on the arm, shoulder and upper back. As a result, the user carrying the bag by such a handle is forced to continually stop and change the bag from one hand to the other so as to not overtax one hand, arm, shoulder and upper back vs the other hand, arm, shoulder and upper back. For these reasons, such a bag can only be transported over relatively short distances.
Because of these problems, shoulder straps are preferred, especially when transporting such a bag over considerable distances. The use of shoulder straps allows the hands to be freed for other activities and uses and the weight thereof is carried by the shoulder and the upper back.
Various types of convertible utility bags are well known in the prior art.
One such type of convertible utility bag is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,019,952 (Brewster) which discloses a packsack with a pair of shoulder straps which are adapted to be manipulated to form handbag handles. In the particular invention taught by Brewster, when the bag is to be used as a backpack the straps function as shoulder straps and when the bag is adapted for use as a piece of luggage, the shoulder straps are unbuckled, each one then passed through a pair of other straps secured to the outside of the bag, each of which other straps form a loop to receive one of the shoulder straps therethrough to "keep" the shoulder straps to form a handle to be gripped by a person's hand. The requirement for assembly and disassembly of the shoulder straps and feeding it through the straps forming loops on the bag is both inconvenient and time-consuming. Additionally, the shoulder straps are never hidden, but are always exposed to wear because they are always situated on the outside of the bag. Further, in the event that the shoulder straps should break, not only can it not be used as a shoulder strap, but because it is used in a dual-purpose role, it cannot be used as a hand grip when the bag is converted from a backpack to a handbag as well.
Another type of convertible backpack to handbag is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,622,056 issued to Droeger. A rectangularly contoured bag forming a container bag portion 11 with a pair of manually engageable handles 12 is depicted. A panel 16 is provided for accessing the suspension means 14 consisting of a pair of adjustable straps 22 and 23 adapted to fit over and around the shoulders of the user, thereby transforming the handbag into a knapsack. The nature and construction of this convertible backpack to handbag require that the pair of adjustable straps 22 and 23 be anchored to an internal rigid frame 13 (typically, formed of plywood) which, in turn, is secured to the bag 11 in order to serve both as a mount for the suspension means 14 (i.e. the shoulder straps 22 and 23) and as a stiffener for the bag 11. This invention fails to hide the unused manually gripped handles 12 which remain exposed to view and continue to reside on the exterior of the handbag. Further, the internal rigid frame 13 adds weight and consumes valuable storage space within the bag 11.